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Exceptional is the expectation: Are you delivering?Colleen Burns, IBM, Influencer Relations@colleeni

What does it mean to deliver an exceptional digital experience? Certainly it’s not something most of your customers think about – but it IS something they expect.

Customers only care if you mess up

Maybe that's not completely true, but think about your own experiences and expectations. Over the weekend I opened an email on my iPhone promoting a summer sale. As I waited for my daughter’s class to finish, I clicked on the link and scrolled through pictures of dresses and shoes. The next day we happened to pass that store and I stopped in so I could try on a pair of the shoes and actually feel the material on the dresses. (There some things you just can't do online.) The items I wanted were there, they were on sale and they had the sizes I wanted. I ended up passing on the shoes (shameful!), but if I change my mind today - and I might, I’ll just grab my laptop, search for the store’s website and order them online.

Would I normally stop and think about how cool this whole transaction is? Probably not. I just expect it to work. And if it didn't, it's very likely I wouldn't shop there again. And perhaps worse, I might Tweet about my frustration or complain to some friends.

Getting the exceptional digital experience right

In this age of speed and instant gratification, customers expect seamless experiences like this one. We want to browse in the store, shop on our smart phones or tablets and we want the experience to be consistent. We want recommendations. If I was looking at these sandals, maybe I would be interested in sunglasses or a purse by the same designer? And while customers rarely stop to consider just how amazing this experience is, they will definitely take notice if it doesn’t work as they expect.

So how do you make sure you are delivering an exceptional and simple digital experience for your customers? How do you engage them and encourage repeat visits and purchases? And how do you integrate all the components necessary to create a seamless experience? Learn how by registering for Wednesday's (July 17) webcast: Reinventing Relationships: Engage Your Customers with Exceptional Digital Experiences, hosted by Larry Bowden, IBM Vice President, Portals and Web Experience Software.

But the conversation doesn’t end there! After the webcast we want you to join in on the discussion. Here’s how:

Pick up where the webcast ends. Join Larry Bowden, Mike Minardi, CEO, Base22 and a host of our business partners, to discuss what an Exceptional Digital Experience means to your customers. Tell us how you are delivering on your customers’ expectations and what you think a future exceptional experience will look like.

Visit www.getrealchat.com/xdx and use #GetRealChat and #DigitalExp on Thursday at 11 AM ET to be part of the discussion.

In this chat, we will highlight examples of how leading companies are delighting customers and empowering the workforce with exceptional experiences across websites, mobile devices, and public social networking sites.

Join IBM Social Business Expert Chris Crummey, WW Director of Sales, Social Business and Exceptional Digital Experience, along with several customers and business partners for a great discussion.